Dear Robin and Vocalisters:
You wrote:
>- Having said that, I also teach, and practice myself,
>the use of a judicious amount of nasal resonance, which
>also increases ring. Nasal resonance and a gently
>raised soft palate are not mutually exclusive, but a
>hyperextended soft palate will close off the nasal
>port. Please note that nasal resonance as I speak of it
>here is NOT equal to nasality. And I was extremely
>dismayed to see the recent article on this topic in the
>NATS Journal. Dismayed, but not surprised, because
>teachers and singers tend to be firmly in one camp or
>the other on this one, and it is one of the most
>controversial aspects of vocal technique.
COMMENT: I must assume that what what you mean by nasal resonance is
a resonance sensation in the nasal area. However,if you allow air
through the nose as you sing then you are sing with a nasal tone or
nasality. This latter process creates a negative resonance node that
actually reduces ring in the voice even though it may feel to the
singer that there is more ring. The former process, that is, sensing
a nasal resonance does not, as you state, mean that you are passing
air through the nose and is little more than a sensation.
Sensations of tone or tone placing are common devices to improve
singing tone. They are a kind of tuning device which allows the
singer to adjust his vocal tract such that he/she can securely
produce the desired tonal result. But it is important to keep in
mind that these placement sensations are not where the tone is found.
They are only conduction of sound sensations. The tone remains in
the pharyngeal and mouth area where they are filtered by the shape of
this vocal tract.
Surprisingly, the concept of nasality in singing has not always been
a controversial subject. This controversy is a rather new
development. Not many years ago it was never a consideration in the
teaching of singing. Nasal singing was simply a no no.
--
Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice, Pedagogy
School of Performing Arts
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
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